International Joint Operation Busts Indian Gang, Arrests 24 Suspected in Canadian Assassination Case

US officials announced today that an international operation targeting an Indian organized crime syndicate has led to the arrest of 24 individuals, including suspects linked to the assassination of a prominent Sikh figure in Canada. This operation has dealt a significant blow to a violent drug trafficking network spanning multiple countries.

According to Agence France-Presse, the sting operation involved law enforcement officials from the United States, Canada, and Europe who jointly investigated the criminal group involved in extortion, contract killings, shootings, racketeering, and drug trafficking.

Dozens of individuals have been indicted, including two whom US officials described as operating a global criminal enterprise from Indian prisons. All but 10 of those indicted are currently in custody.

"Transnational criminal organizations that spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of the law and the federal government's crackdown," stated Bill Essayli, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

The charges detailed in the indictments unsealed today include the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and prominent separatist activist seeking an independent homeland for Sikhs.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, 33, from Punjab, India, is accused of ordering the assassination from his prison cell in India. His organization has been designated a terrorist group in Canada.

Officials stated that Pannun publicly presented himself as a devout religious "patriot," using this image to recruit members and associates for his criminal syndicate in India, the United States, and elsewhere.

Also indicted is Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, from Punjab, a gangster serving time in India who founded his own criminal gang with over 1,000 members currently operating in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Bhagwanpuria, along with 16 other defendants, is accused of operating a criminal organization involved in contract killings, drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, weapons smuggling, and other crimes globally.

Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, from Vancouver, Canada, is among 11 individuals indicted for involvement in a large-scale drug smuggling operation. Authorities stated that hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine were imported weekly from the US to Canada.

"Today's coordinated action strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorized families, exploited communities, and taken lives through their relentless violence in the US and abroad," said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. (Compiled by Li Peishan) 1150708

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